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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Hands: empty or full? | Luke 1:38 | Mommapbs | 68499 | ||
Greetings in our Saviour's Name! In preparation for a Christmas message to my friends, I have been considering Mary and her statement to the angel, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to what you have said." (Luke 1:38) As I read and reflect upon these words I am stunned by her absolute confidence and trust in the heart of God. As I step into Mary's shoes and imagine the implications of what she had been told that would happen to her, I'm wondering, how would I respond to this announcement? What about you? Mary goes to the Lord with open hands, ready to receive whatever He would place there. I'm wondering, do we as Christ followers do likewise? I suspect that all too often we go to God with our hands full saying, "Look what I did for you Lord!" rather than saying, "What do YOU have for me, Lord?" Jesus said, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many." (Mt 20:28) Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) When we come to the Lord with our hands full on our agenda for serving Him, don't we limit what He can accomplish through us? If Christ desires to live through us, isn't it HE who is doing the serving? How do we keep our hands open and empty for the Lord to fill them with Himself? Comments? mommapbs |
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2 | Hands: empty or full? | Luke 1:38 | Timothy Paul | 69043 | ||
mommapbs, What a wonderful inspiration you bring to us! The only possible comment I can think of, being otherwise tongue-tied over the inherent beauty of your post, is that my wish is to be able to come to my Lord with an open heart, because it is going before Him with a heart that is full that frightens me. The prince of this fallen world is greatly adept at filling our hearts and hands with enough distractions that we do not spend enough quality time in reverence with God. I want Jesus to come into my heart, although there is no scriptural evidence to support this widely accepted phrase. What do you think, please? In His grip, Tim |
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3 | Hands: empty or full? | Luke 1:38 | Mommapbs | 69049 | ||
Greetings Tim - you are right, there is no scriptural basis for that phrase. Once you have confessed Christ as your Savior, you are indeed "in His grip." Too often many fall prey to the devil's suggestion that we really aren't saved. Lots of people quote and requote the "sinners prayer" just to "be sure." Well, we can never be sure on our own for it is the Spirit who testifes that we are indeed children of God. (Romans 8:16)(See also 1 John 5!) Frankly, according Jesus, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with our heart, mind, soul and strength (Lk 10:27). Yet the word He uses for love is agapao. How can we, as fallen humans, ever love the Lord with THAT quality of love? We can't! Jesus said,"THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,(Lk 4:18) Jesus declared that He had come to set the captives free. What imprisons us? I think it our human desire to please and be accepted. How do we accomplish this? Most often we succumb to performance Christianity - this is self effort - yet in God's economy, it is never good enough. He equates all our attempts at goodness as "filty rags." (Isa 64:6) Your closing says it all - once we are in HIS grip, Jesus lives through us. He says, "apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) So what do you think - can we obey the greatest commandment on our own? That's the good news, Christ lives in me - He's the one who does all the work - as Larry Crabb says, "The pressure's off!" Whew, that performance thing was really oppressive! Most people do recognize what Blaise Pascal calls the "God shaped vacuum in our soul." This emptiness is, in reality, our loss of relationship with God. Most of us grieve losses. But, we are so addicted to formulas and programs, that we fail to see how this amounts to nothing more than "trying" to live for God on our own. These are folks who come to God with their hands in their pockets (denial). They operate by a list of rules and set up meetings with God on their terms. It's the "you can do it mentality!" Then there are those who come to God with a clenched fist, blaming God for what ever misfortune or disappointment they have experienced. Perhaps they have found that "living by the rules" didn't make a difference. (These folks are angry at Him - at least it is a response!) The next group of people come to God with their hands full; they have "wish lists" and agendas for God to stamp with His approval.(Busyness, avoidance and self sufficiency rule here too!) However, in order to love as Christ commands, we must come to Him as Mary did, with open hands,(acceptance) ready to receive what God would place there. What He gives us is His Love - Jesus! Once we have Him, we can be confident that no matter what the Lord allows to come into our lives, HE is sovereign and HE is sufficent. God chose to place Himself within Mary's womb, just as HE chooses to place His Spirit within the souls of those who would receive Him. Let us respond to Him as Mary did, "I am the Lord's bondslave . . ." What if Mary had said, "Thanks, but no thanks?" Blessings brother! mommapbs |
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4 | Hands: empty or full? | Luke 1:38 | Timothy Paul | 69060 | ||
Thank you, momma, your post blessed me this morning as I prepare to go out into the world with mixed emotions about my task. Jesus came to set the captives free is a very profound and liberating statement of His love for us and His omnipotence. Indeed, we are all held captive by our human desires. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Gal 5:17 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Thanks for starting my day on a good note, God Bless You. Tim |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Luke 1:38 | Author | ||
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Mommapbs | ||
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Timothy Paul | ||
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Mommapbs | ||
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Timothy Paul |